By Will Grunewald
From our September 2021 issue
1971
A handful of counter-cultural back-to-the-landers banded together to establish the nonprofit Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. The next year, the group started to certify organic farms around the state, and today, there are some 500 MOFGA-certified organic farms.
1977
An annual harvest festival, the Common Ground Country Fair, debuted at a Litchfield fairground and drew 10,000 visitors. Several years later, it moved to a larger venue in Windsor and, in 1998, found a permanent home at MOFGA’s recently acquired 200 acres in Unity, where fair attendance regularly surpasses 50,000.
1981
The newly formed MOFGA legislative committee started lobbying for pro-
organics bills. Early successes included a measure requiring transparency in stores about produce with post-harvest chemical treatments. This spring, lawmakers approved a MOFGA-backed Healthy Soils Program, creating a best-practices info and support hub in the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry.
1999
MOFGA launched its Journeyperson Program, connecting fledgling farmers with experienced mentors and providing them with seed discounts, educational funding, and access to shared farm equipment for two years.
2014
The first trees were planted in the Maine Heritage Orchard, in a former gravel pit at MOFGA’s Unity headquarters. Now, more than 300 types of heirloom apples and pears from around the state grow there.
2021
In a public library turned Abercrombie & Fitch outlet turned vacant storefront in Freeport, MOFGA opened the Maine Organic Marketplace. In addition to MOFGA merch, the gift-y shop sells products from MOFGA members — bouquets of dried flowers, goat-milk soaps, maple syrup — and hosts educational sessions on making preserves, managing gardens, and more.
